Chapter 21 — The Sorcerous Clan and the Treasure Map (2/2)

With that said, she completely ignored him and turned her attention to the box. It opened to reveal nothing but a sheepskin parchment that was flattened beneath a block of translucent jade, and a totem. No words were visible on the latter.

She reached out to grab the block of jade, but a larger hand beat her to it. “You…” Yun Wu scowled and snapped her head up, just about to say something, but the man’s icy-cold countenance caused whatever she intended to say to die in her throat.

This expression of his was a first. “You recognize this,” she stated. It wasn’t a question. Pushing down the turmoil in his heart, Long Qingxie unfurled his fingers to reveal the character ‘巫’ that had appeared when a light was shone through the jade.

“‘巫’? Meaning?” Yun Wu knit her brows.

“An exclusive jade talisman of the Sorcerous Clan,” was the relatively cold answer.

Sorcerous Clan? She couldn’t help but think of her necklace. It seemed to be a sacred relic of the Sorcerous Clan.

What is this about? First, it’s the imperial family, then it’s the Sorcerous Clan… Does this have anything to do with me?

Long Qingxie stealthily concealed the chill in his eyes and stretched out a hand to retrieve the sheepskin parchment, but as he examined it, his expression changed again, albeit only slightly. Nonetheless, anything that was capable of making his expression fall was surely beyond ordinary.

With an eyebrow raised, she asked, “What’s that? Is it something related to the Sorcerous Clan again?” Judging from his reactions, she reckoned he had some grievances against the Sorcerous Clan. Otherwise, his devilish composure wouldn’t have been shaken.

“This one has nothing to do with the Sorcerous Clan, but rather, your future.” He cast her an ominous look.

Related to her future?

“What is it? Let me see.” Curiously, she accepted the small sheepskin parchment and swept her gaze over it, quickly picking up on the eccentric nature of the character ‘巫’. She couldn’t understand it fully, but the lower portion of the character displayed…. An incomplete map.

“A portion of a map?” She lifted her attention and asked with uncertainty. Long Qingxie stared at her as he responded, “To be precise, it is a treasure map.”

Treasure map?

She looked over the sheepskin parchment a few more times, shrugged, and said indifferently, “Even if it’s a treasure map, what of it? What does it have to do with my future?” Based on previous experience, she knew that although a treasure map sounded exciting, once its existence became known, a reign of terror and bloodbath would follow.

Therefore, she truly didn’t have any interest in braving the weather to find whatever treasure the map promised. Wealth was something that came and went. However, if she knew that the treasures mentioned on the map weren’t just pearls and gold, she wouldn’t have disregarded it.

When Long Qingxie heard her words, he chuckled affectionately and rubbed her head. “In this world, I’m afraid only a little pipsqueak like you would be this disdainful of riches. But if I’m not wrong, then this is a fragment of the legendary Summoner Temple’s treasure map.”

“Summoner Temple? What’s that?” A crease appeared between her brows. Long Qingxie smiled mysteriously, “It is said that the Summoner Temple is where Summoners converge after they transcend to Immortality. Unfortunately, throughout the endless years, Summoners have begun to decline, and the Summoner Temple was closed.”

At this point, he paused and then continued, “However, Immortal Might remains within the Summoner Temple, left behind by the several Summoners of the olden days. If one succeeds in entering and inheriting the power of Immortal Might, then one would be able to reach the sky in a single bound, become a successor, and seize the terrifying strength capable of obliterating an entire kingdom.”

“Obliterating an entire kingdom?” No matter how reserved and calm she was, Yun Wu could not resist the tremor of fear that thrilled through her heart. As long as she inherited Immortal Might and became the successor of Summoners, she could obtain that astonishing level of power? Wasn’t that equivalent to having an enormous meat pie fall from the sky?

When the news spread, no one in Shenzhou Continent would be able to contain their elation and craze.

Seeing Yun Wu’s slightly shocked expression, Long Qingxie smiled gently and rubbed her head again, continuing, “This is merely one fragment out of twelve though, so only assembling all twelve fragments would cause the Summoner Temple to reveal itself.”

Twelve fragments? She regained her composure and frowned as she inspected the sheepskin parchment. She was extremely moved by the prospects of the map, but she was nonetheless aware that she was holding a hot potato, especially since Housekeeper Wu and Liu Qingyue both knew she was in possession of it.

If they learned that she was still alive, she would most likely fall into peril before she could even get the chance to grow stronger. Thus…. After she got out, she would have to kill them first.

“What is it you’re thinking about, little pipsqueak, that’s making your killing intent escalate so much?” The murderous intent in her eyes did not escape Long Qingxie’s notice, and that only served to further delight him.

VIN: So has anyone been scared away by the age gap yet? I don’t know how I feel about the age gap…. she sees him as 3 years younger, but he sees her as 10 years younger, and people can live till their hundreds. I think I’m fine with that, it’s not as weird as if the MC was only mentioned to be 10 years younger or something.

After checking the following chapters, I will say… the word count for this novel will be doubled from now on. I thought the length of this chapter was a one-time thing, but as it turns out, it’s not, lol. Prior to this chapter, the average chapter length in Chinese characters was 1.7k, and this chapter and the rest will be around 3.5k. Here’s a little comparison for my xianxia readers: ISSTH has the same average, and CD has a few hundred more.